An object of configuring an IED is to make and modify a complete configuration from the input of the device to the output of the device. An IED is a control and protection device for power transmission and distribution, such as a protective relay. A configuring process begins with determining the hardware (HW) configuration by selecting hardware components from a provided list. Known HW configuration tools are, for example, CAP 501/505/531 tools by ABB Technology AG.
FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art system for configuring an intelligent electronic device. The user of the system starts the configuration of an IED with an HW configuration tool and selects the required components which are to be used in an IED housing. The housing has a specific layout and is a container of hardware modules 102. The housing must be populated with hardware modules 102 according to the rules provided by the selected housing type. This results in a certain HW configuration whose operation is modified with other configuration tools such as an application configuration tool (ACT) 10 and a signal matrix tool 20 (SMT).
The ACT 10 is a graphical configuration tool providing an IED application by using function blocks 104. The ACT 10 has the advantage of visualizing and documenting the functionality of the device, but has the disadvantage of connecting and disconnecting inputs during testing and commissioning and reconnecting them to the same place. This is because the connections between the function blocks 102 and the actual hardware modules 104 are not provided. A connection to the hardware modules 104 is provided by a cross-reference list, which uses interface variables to connect signals between the hardware modules 102 and the function blocks 104.
The SMT 20 is a table-based configuration tool. The purpose of the SMT 20 is to handle signals of inputs and outputs toward the function blocks 104 and between the function blocks 104 on a matrix-based principle. This table-based configuration tool allows the user to use predefined logical functions (such as AND, OR) for the signals. A disadvantage of the table-based configuration tool is the difficulty of visualizing the configuration of the device on a SMT display, because the table of the SMT 20 is actually provided by a cross-reference list using interface variables to connect signals between the function blocks 102 and the actual inputs and outputs of the hardware modules 104. An advantage of SMT 20 is that it allows the user to connect and disconnect the signal and trip the output signal during testing and commissioning.
One disadvantage associated with the above system is that the ACT 10 cannot be effectively used as an on-line testing tool.
Another disadvantage associated with the above system is that the user has to choose which configuration tool he/she is going to use during the configuration of the IED. The configuration tool has to be closed when the user wishes to use another configuration tool.
One disadvantage of the current configuring systems is that the user has to start the configuration process from the beginning of the configuration process if there is a need to change the HW configuration and, as a result, the configurations made by other configuring tools is lost.